Ridgefield girls edge Westhill in a thriller

Ryan Lacey

Updated
11:03 pm EST, Friday, December 7, 2012

STAMFORD -- When Ridgefield junior guard Sandra Carpenter stepped to the foul line with 1:16 remaining in a tie game, little did she know that the outcome of the game would rest on the front end of her crucial 1-and-1.

Sinking the one foul provided all the offense her team would need as the Tigers forced a series of defensive stops down the stretch to claim a thrilling 51-50 girls basketball victory over Westhill on Friday night.

"I was madder that I missed the second one," Carpenter said. "But it was nice to know you made a difference in the game with that one point. I didn't know at the time but I'm really happy."

The Vikings had a pair of chances to steal a victory that seemed unlikely early in the second half. Holding the ball with 9.8 seconds left, Meg D'alessandro, who led all scorers with 21 points, drove to the hoop but was rejected by Ridgefield freshman Rebecca Lawrence.

"Rebecca is awesome," Ridgefield coach Katie Reed said. "She is a very smart freshman. She understands the game as well as any freshman I've seen and knows where the ball is all the time."

The ball trickled out of bounds, allowing Westhill one more opportunity with less than three seconds left. Unfortunately for the hosts, Kat Grasso's shot clanked off the rim as time expired, preserving a wild win for the Tigers.

"We had a few good shots and they didn't fall," Westhill coach Mike King said. "A couple of wide open looks, which is good, but we just had too many turnovers at the end."

Carpenter's three-point play and Andrea Ferrero's 3 had given the Tigers a 32-21 lead early in the third quarter, but Westhill battled back, eventually taking the lead on the first play of the fourth. Tyler Evans led the charge, scoring 11 second-half points for the hosts, the final two coming on a layup for a 48-43 lead with 5:43 left in the game.

"The first half was a really good half for us," Reed said. "We came out well but took a lapse in the third quarter. We kept saying to our players they had to be more aggressive like they were in the first half. And they were; they were aggressive and more patient with the ball and we made just enough shots in the end."

The Tigers calmly worked their way back into the contest despite the rapid turn in fortune. Carly Mercede drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game at 48 before Lawrence scored on a put-back with 1:55 left to retake the lead.

"We saw that we had a lead and then we fell back into how we were playing in the first half," D'alessandro said. "We had that five-point lead; we needed to make it eight, 10. We didn't push it and that's what cost us."

The victory could mark an early turning point in the season for Ridgefield. After not reaching the postseason a year ago and getting blown out by Trumbull (52-37) in Wednesday's opner, the Tigers showed they could take blows from one of the conference's best and still respond.

"After not having a winning season last year, we really learned to bounce back and pick up after adversity," Carpenter said. "After we got down five after having such a big lead we just realized that we had to breathe and concentrate because we know we have the capability."